Naruto A Monster's Truth
by TheAprilFool
Summary: Konoha hasn't stopped lying to you, my dear brother. Pein said, holding out a hand to stop the protesting. The Fourth Hokage was no hero. The sooner you accept that then the easier it will be for you to accept your fate. Rating may rise not sure
1. Prologue

I don't own Naruto (duh).

NARUTO

A Monster's Truth

PROLOGUE

The village of Konoha contains one of the world's deadliest secrets. The biggest of those secrets walked the streets for years unsupervised. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He had inside him the Nine-Tailed Fox… the most powerful of all the nine demons. For twelve years he grew up rejected. No one cared for the little boy with the demon inside him. Even though it was the fourth Hokage, the hero of Konoha, who had trapped it inside the boy in the first place.

The children of the village were never told about the demon. They were given a fairy-tale. A lie about the fourth killing it. That's what they believed. None of them knew why their parents wouldn't let them associate themselves with this child. But they grew to dislike him without knowing why… Then the final exam at the Ninja Academy occurred.

Naruto Uzumaki failed the test… then through some mysterious turn of events [**see chapter 1 of Naruto for details** that was turned around. He also became on good terms with the teacher Iruka who taught them. Naruto was placed on a team with Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. It was these events that changed everything for the future.

Naruto grew. With his newfound friends he grew. With teachers who were beginning to trust him and a village that slowly began to respect him… he grew. Then tragedy struck him as one of his friends betrayed the village. Sasuke Uchiha left the village to be taught by the Sanin Orochimaru. Sakura begged Naruto to bring him back… A promise he made that should never have been made….

Something existed… a darkness that no one remembered. This darkness was preparing its true plans. A plan that would manipulate villains from around the world… a plan that would start a war bigger than anything ever imagined. Should its plans come to pass… only a world of darkness could await. This darkness was hunting the nine demons… for they were the ultimate key to the plan…

The darkness… Konoha's most secret shame… something only the Hokage and select few know… Something that should have remained buried in the past if not for one mistake…


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE  
SEARCHING

It was three years after Sasuke Uchiha had run away from the Konoha village. He was attempting to go find his brother to get revenge. Assembling a team of several people who would make up for what he lacked, he prepared himself for the moment he'd been waiting for his entire life. But some things still were in his way. For one he had to find Akatsuki. Also he had to survive running into their members. Deidara was the unlucky bastard that nearly killed Sasuke but took himself out to do that much. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke survived the fight.

But Konoha had been hunting for Sasuke. The team was on the move and Sasuke could not wait to heal. He had to move and fast or else they would catch up. Unfortunately he knew nothing of their existence… And they moved in on the point where Sasuke's fight took place… Leading them to a trail.  
"This looks like it was a big fight." Kakashi said, sighing. "Whatever happened here, we missed it. They looked around at the burned trees and scorched grounds that would look like a desert if not for the obvious burn marks every here and there.  
"This couldn't have been an ordinary fight." Sai said. "The damage is too great."  
"Akatsuki?" Naruto asked.  
"Who would they be fighting?" Sakura asked.  
"Sasuke." Kiba said, opening his eyes. He looked at Akamaru who barked in agreement. "We both smell his scent."  
"You don't think…" Sakura said, horrified.  
"No… I don't think he got in the explosion." Kiba said, shaking his head. He walked around observing the area, sniffing every now and then trying to find the source of the scent. "I can't find any remains… and the scent seems to be further off too… "  
"Further off…" Naruto said. His face shot into a smirk "So we can find him?"  
"I'm sad to say it but… no." Kiba said. He sighed, hating his own limitations. "Neither I, nor Akamaru, can track it… It's too far… I can't even smell it anymore… He's moving fast."  
"Damn it!" Naruto kicked at the ground. They had come so close only for their last lead to fall apart like this. Sakura's face fell and Kakashi sighed. Shino looked indifferent while Hinata looked severely disappointed, mostly for Naruto.  
"So what now?" Kiba asked. "What's our next move?"  
"We're hunting Sasuke." Naruto said. "But we're also hunting Akatsuki."  
"So?" Kiba didn't understand where Naruto was going with this. Naruto held up one finger.  
"First off, this means we don't have to focus on simply one target." He told them. Then he held up a second finger. "Second, this means we can split up while searching."  
"We are one big team to take on Akatsuki if we run into them." Shino stated. "Splitting up is out of the question."  
"For assault it is." Naruto acknowledged.  
"But not for scouting." Sakura finished. "We don't need to be together if we plan to do things secretly."  
"I'm sorry but I disagree." Kakashi said. "We are not protecting just ourselves from Akatsuki. We carry someone they want." He glanced at Naruto with his uncovered eye. Little could change Naruto's mind but he had to at least try. "We cannot hunt them alone even with little intention of attacking." Naruto smiled at Kakashi. He lifted up two more fingers.  
"Third, who said we'd be going alone?" He asked. "Fourth, I have a skill perfect for hiding us."  
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Kakashi sighed. "We still can't just go our own ways. Decoy or not they could run into the real things." He shook his head and fiddled with his headband slightly. "We just can't take that risk."  
"Then what do we do?" Naruto asked. "If we search as a group we're not going to find as much as quickly."  
"For now we're going to ask around the local village." Kakashi said. "A secure location where we can split up to ask for information. I can't imagine Akatsuki just moving out in the open in such a public place." Naruto looked like he was about to argue but he fell back.  
"Okay." He said.

"We have taken a considerable loss." Pain spoke to the woman beside him. The darkness hid his face from anyone around him. He and the woman were walking along a passageway in the Akatsuki main base. They turned a corner and the woman fell behind Pain without word as the passageway narrowed. The dull stone passage wasn't lit and Pain had not brought anything to light it up with. He could see well enough and if the woman fell behind… He smirked at the thought of what he would do.  
"Deidara did have potential…" Pain told the woman as they walked. "Konoha has trained those brats to be too strong."  
"Master, I don't see how Deidara's defeat leads to any change." The woman spoke in formal Japanese.  
"No… you wouldn't." Pain chuckled. "You know what I know."  
"Then this concerns the other members?" The woman asked.  
"The only thing it concerns is finding a replacement for Deidara… but many people wish to join us." Pain said. "The problem is selecting the proper person."  
"If it is a matter of choosing another member… why are we going to see him, Master?" The woman asked. Pain didn't answer. They emerged into a large room that looked like a fancy master bedroom. Through the shower curtain you could see a figure taking a shower. On the stand next to the shower was a spiral mask with a single eye slot. And on the wall next to the shower was an Akatsuki robe hung on a hook.  
"Tough time?" Pain asked.  
"More than you know… That Uchiha kid has potential." The man in the shower replied. A squeak was heard as the man turned off the water. He reached out and grabbed the mask and snapping sounds were heard as he put it on securely. Tobi grabbed the robe and stepped out unemotional and began putting them on.  
"He killed Deidara… the others will be wondering why you lived." Pain told him, unaffected by Tobi's actions.  
"Yes… they will be curious. But it was a necessary loss." Tobi replied. He finished putting on the robes and stepped forward and placed a hand on Pain's shoulder. "During his fight the sign was sent."  
"Then it's true?"  
"Twelve make nine." Tobi nodded, removing his hand. "That was the riddle sent."  
"Then I should inform them of our new course of action?" Pain asked.  
"We want this done quickly." Tobi spoke. "As the leader of Akatsuki I will not tolerate failure. I want them to continue finding the tailed beasts except for _him_."  
"Then you do want to meet him?" Pain asked, frowning slightly.  
"The thought troubles you?" Tobi asked.  
"His power is growing rapidly…"  
"His power?" Tobi asked, he barked out a laugh. "He has no power compared to the power of Uchiha Madara… compared to my powers." The visible eye turned red. It was a Sharingan the same as Sasuke's.  
"I'm not concerned with him defeating you or me." Pain said, coolly. Not surprised by this reaction. "I'm more concerned of that power getting out of control. Konoha may take rash action."  
"They may… but that may benefit us more than you think." Tobi answered. He walked over to the nightstand and opened it. From inside he removed a simple rusted dogtag. Barely able to be made out was the number _20_.

"Nothing." Kiba groaned. "This town knows absolutely nothing!" Akamaru whined from next to Kiba. Naruto didn't say it but he still found it odd how big Akamaru was now. No longer riding on Kiba's head but instead Kiba riding him.  
"So our only leads disappear too quickly to follow." Kakashi sighed heavily, leaning against the wall and stroking his chin. "We can't just go back to the village yet… And with no clue as to where Sasuke is heading or where Akatsuki is…"  
"The Hidden Rain Village…" Naruto said.  
"What?" Sakura asked. She had voiced what everyone had thought when Naruto spoke.  
"I… I've been getting a feeling since this mission began." Naruto said. "I'm not sure if it's a connection to Sasuke or something else… but I think that's where we need to go next."  
"Naruto…" Kakashi said, shaking his head in disbelief. "That village has security that would keep us outside the fence for months if we just decided to show up unauthorized. We can't afford to waste such precious time."  
"Kakashi's right." Kiba said. "Besides, once we get there Akamaru and I will be useless."  
"No one is useless." Kakashi said. "And we're not going to the rain village."  
"What if Sasuke's heading there though?" Sakura asked. "I don't want to waste any time. " Kakashi stood straight and chuckled at his old students.  
"You do have a point…" He leaned over a desk and began writing on a small scroll. "So here's what we'll do: I will send this message to Tsunade. We'll await her judgment on this."  
"That could take too long." Kiba whined. "I want to go see some action! I want to take down Akatsuki or kick Sasuke's ass and drag him home!"  
"Shut up, Kiba." Shino said simply. They all looked over at him, thinking he had something to say. But apparently he was just annoyed with Kiba. Probably still holding a grudge against Kiba because Naruto recognized him quickly instead of Shino. After a few minutes they realized that Shino wasn't about to speak and they turned away from him."How long should the message take?" He suddenly said, startling them all.  
"SHINO!" Kiba roared at him. "SPEAK WHEN WE'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO YOU!" Shino didn't answer that and instead stood silently waiting for his question to be answered.  
"One day… or two…" Kakashi told Shino. "I can teleport the dog I send here after that time, hopefully with a response." He finished writing on the scroll and performed the summon technique to summon his favorite dog. Pakkun was given the scroll and instructions and he ran off without any incident.  
"Two days…" Naruto said, slightly depressed.  
"It's not that long Naruto. In the meantime, I want everyone to restock his or her supplies and to get rest. We have a long road ahead of us, even if the mission doesn't take us to the rain village."

The Hidden Leaf Village, also known as Konoha, was calm and peaceful on the day the message was sent to arrive. But the calm office of the Hokage, Tsunade, was about to be disturbed by the worst of visitors. "YO TSUNADE!" Jiraiya shouted, flinging the door open without even knocking. Tsunade groaned and continued working on all the paperwork she had put off.  
"What no 'Welcome back'?" Jiraiya asked. "I would have thought you of all people would at least say something like 'I missed you a lot while you were on your extremely dangerous mission-'"  
"Spying on women for your latest book is dangerous?" Tsunade asked. Jiraiya stuttered and pointed at her angrily.  
"Data gathering! Not spying!" He shouted. Suddenly he was acting sly as if he wasn't even truly angry. "But if you'd like to volunteer…" He found himself outside the office in the hallway with a Jiraiya-sized hole in the wall to Tsunade's office. Getting up he tried to shake it off but the punch had him dizzy. After a few minutes he finally regained his balance and strode back in to see Tsunade was still fuming.  
"How long was I out for?" He asked.  
"Ten minutes." Tsunade said, through her teeth.  
"Cool! That's less than usual!" He laughed as if her sending him flying through the wall was a normal thing. "But enough with the jokes, I've come here on serious business."  
"If you were coming here on serious business then you should have just stated your business instead of acting like a fool." Tsunade spat, not believing he had any real info.  
"Hey, hey, calm down!" Jiraiya sighed. "I happen to have found a possible location for Akatsuki's main base."  
"Oh really? Did one of the women down at the bathhouses tell you?"  
"No!" Jiraiya shouted. He shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. "Well yes…"  
"That's definitely reliable." Tsunade said sarcastically.  
"She was an ex-member of the village in question." Jiraiya said. "After getting over the shock that I was watching her she decided to open up to me!"  
"Let me put it this way…" Tsunade started. "Get out."  
"What's important is what she said!" Jiraiya groaned. "She said that the Rain village hasn't been the same since a group of people with red-cloud cloaks started coming to the village constantly."  
"When did that happen?" Tsunade asked, obviously not taking this too seriously.  
"When the civil war in that country began." Jiraiya said. "The leader of those in the cloaks wanted people to follow him and the others wanted to follow their already set leader."  
"Akatsuki working out in the open and not so much as a word?" Tsunade laughed. "That's not believable. Was she drunk?"  
"No." Jiraiya said. "…Yes… But I think she was telling the truth!"  
"If all you have are drunken rumors then at least get something more reliable!" Tsunade said. "Naruto and the others are hunting Akatsuki and Sasuke right now. If I am to take any action that interferes with that mission then I should have a damn good reason why."  
"But… I'm one of the Sannin!" Jiraiya whined. He stuck his nose up and turned around to walk out of the office. "Fine! I'll go get your proof. I'll head to the Rain village myself!"  
"You can't get in there." Tsunade said. "Not secretly. They're obsessed with security."  
"From what I hear, that's just a front." Jiraiya commented, as he walked out. "Since the civil war began at least." With that he was gone out the hole in the wall that he had been thrown through by Tsunade's punch.  
"What a moron." Tsunade groaned. "Taking advice on such a big matter from a drunk woman."  
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune called out, running into the room carrying Pakkun in her arms. She stopped for a second to stare at the wall.  
"Jiraiya's been visiting?" She asked as she hurried to the desk.  
"Who else?" Tsunade asked. She looked at Pakkun. "Isn't that dog Kakashi's?"  
"Yes." Pakkun answered himself. "I have come to bring a message." He sniffed the air.  
"Someone uses the same shampoo as me… They're walking away from the building…"  
"Jiraiya…" Shizune said, giggling at the dog.  
"Get to the point." Tsunade said. "I'm up to my neck in paperwork and I keep getting these stupid interruptions."  
"Kakashi will be calling me back in ten minutes." Pakkun said. "The message is on the scroll." He scratched at the scroll tied to his neck and Tsunade pulled it off. She opened it and almost fell out of her chair."Kakashi wants to split up his team and have half go to the rain village!" She exclaimed, not finding this believable.  
"What's wrong with that, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked. "It's dangerous to go there but they've been in danger before."  
"Jiraiya is heading to the Rain village. That was his big message…and now this…" Tsunade wondered if it was all coincidence. It didn't seem likely…  
"Are you going to authorize it or not?" Pakkun asked, impatiently. "I only have five minutes left."


End file.
